Latest Weird Trend In Tokyo: Rabbit Cafes

Tokyo is a cutting edge place, always at the forefront of new trends. So what’s the latest such trend to take the Japanese metropolis by storm?

Rabbit Cafes.

No, these are not cafes where people go to eat rabbits. That, as weird as it may be, would make more sense. Instead, these are cafes where people go to play with rabbits.

That’s right. You go, order a cup of tea and a scone, find a seat, and then play with fuzzy bunnies.

Usagi Cafe Ohisama (“Rabbit Sun Cafe”) opened last year in the Tokyo’s Shimokitazawa neighborhood. Then this past fall, another one called R.a.a.g.f. (pronounced “raf”) opened in the trendy Jiyugaoka neighborhood. Now it’s been announced that yet another rabbit cafe, called Usagi no Ehon (“Rabbit Picture Books”), has opened in the vicinity of Usagi Cafe Ohisama.

The first two of these places each has about 20-30 rabbits hopping around, while the newest plans to only have about 7—but they also have books about rabbits. So, that’s good.

In any case, these rabbit cafes are reportedly packed on weekends, mostly with women in their 20s and 30s.

So why the sudden need to play with bunnies while drinking tea and coffee?

Stress relief and relaxation is the goal. As Etsuko Kawasaki, owner of the newest rabbit cafe, explains, “I want our cafe to be a healing space for stressed-out people.”

So I guess people come in, they have some chamomile tea, they pet a bunny, and their stress just melts away. Or something like that. Personally, I’ll just keep relieving my stress with whiskey.